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Inequality in education in america
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Racial inequality in education essay
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Batoul Labban
Professor Logan
ENWR105_CAFA15
9 October 2015
Race and education are two very important topics that seem to have a very great effect on each other. We live in the land of opportunity, and this land provides “The American Dream”. However, the American Dream must come with equal quality education for all people regardless of their race. Education is one of the major obstacles today that stands in the way of giving everyone the same opportunity that they deserve.
Schools that are filled with low-income colored students across the country are far more likely to have inexperienced teachers, bad grades, very little opportunities for economic funding and racial segregation compared to schools in wealthier areas. The issue of teacher
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quality is considered significant to growing efforts to understand and decrease gaps in achievement between students of color and students that are white. Students of color in schools with a population that is high of low-salary are more likely to have inexperienced teachers, fewer college courses and more BSI classes. Teachers with experience are not equally dispersed across low- and high-poverty schools meaning that the teachers who perform better on the certification exam are more likely to leave schools which have low succeeding students. This is not the students fault. This problem makes it harder for low-accomplished schools to build an experienced teaching core, therefore creating an unequal distribution of experienced teachers. Inexperienced teachers are less effective with students and they struggle with curriculum progress, student motivation, teaching strategies and classroom management. With the little knowledge that they know about, teachers are less likely to understand students' learning styles and needs. Because of these low quality teachers they are very likely to blame their students if their teaching is not very successful. Since students of colors are put with low quality teachers this can also play a big role on how they get their grades. If a teacher does not know how to teach and how to grade it is quite obvious that the student’s grades are inaccurate. Students are not being graded fairly because of the teachers that are checking their work. The grading issue leads us back to the fact that low-income schools only look at any type of person who is willing to work for them. They would barely look at the teachers resume to see if he/she is really qualified for the job. Students who get bad grades would blame themselves for not getting the right information whereas it is also the education system for not providing those students with the good material and teachers that they need all because of their races. This gap between students of color and whites can only get smaller if all races attend the same schools. In America, schools with a lot of minority students are frequently underfunded. There are not many scholarships, financial aid or loans that would provide students of color. Scholarships and grants for people of color are based on the belief that they have been signaled out for mistreatment on the basis of race. Clearly, race-based scholarships attached to people of color are not based on notions of racial power or distinctive difference. They are based only on the idea that there have been real differences in opportunity on the basis of race, and that these opportunity gaps should be improved to the greatest level possible. Student of color-scholarships do not maintain racial inequality, if anything they would have the result of decreasing it, nor do they prevent whites from enjoying equal opportunity of getting the scholarship. Without favorable action efforts, in admissions and scholarships, whites would enjoy extra and unearned opportunity comparative to people of color. Scholarships would have been more fairly spread between the races in a system without a history of racial discrimination. People who are in charge of ones education have not paid enough attention regarding racial and economic inequalities in both public and private schools, leading to a segregated system where low income and minority students are often attending low quality and non-diverse schools. Focusing students with these difficulties in racially and economically schools depresses it further. Schools that the most disadvantaged are the ones that low minority children attend because they are located in segregated high-poverty neighborhoods, very far from where the middle class neighborhoods are. “To delineate the racial boundaries, one needed only to look up (there were no streetlights in the black neighborhoods) or down: the white blocks were paved, while the black ones were clay, though they were always covered with oil” (Margolick 6). This quote is used to describe to us the neighborhood where blacks used to live. The neighborhoods as described where not that satisfying compared to where the whites lived. There has been a massive change in the days of Hazel and Elizabeth but it will always be a slight problem till today. Education policy has a lot to do with the housing policy: it is not possible to desegregate schools without desegregating both low-income and wealthy neighborhoods.
Though, the rule motivation to desegregate neighborhoods is very difficult by a growing ignorance of the nation’s racial history. It must be talked about improving the social and economic conditions that bring too many students to school unprepared to take advantage of what even the best schools have to offer. There is a strong feeling of racial inequality in today's school systems, which harmfully effects the quality of education that its students receive. A schools potential to give an appropriate education often depends on the viewpoint on racial backgrounds of its students. America's school systems seem to be returning to their past state of segregation. There is an unfortunately small number of minority children who are lucky enough to attend such quality schools but white children defiantly make up the majority of upper class high. “All of them, of course, were white, and desegregation was far from their minds” (Margolick …show more content…
152). Inequality in education is related to the major problems in the society.
The means of justifying these inequalities are important for the entire world. Education played and will always play a big role in everyone’s lives. Equality in education will eventually guarantee every person a better position in society. Educational inequality is the difference in learning effectiveness and results as faced by students with varying backgrounds. The effects of educational inequality are not only left within the circles of education, but also remain further to have an impact on other life aspects. All over the world, there have been unending calls to reform education at each level. With various causes that are very much connected to society, history and culture, the educational inequality has apparently been one of the most difficult challenges to address. Regardless of the challenges faced in removing educational inequality, education has continued to be a very important part of society with a big expectation of moving it forward. In the current-day America, very many disadvantaged children have continued to grow up missing key skills. Discrimination has continued to persevere in educational achievement between racial issues. Above all, low performance levels among these disadvantaged children have over the years been responsible for the long-term issues, especially in such an society with higher levels of skills and a failing incomes offered to those people that are less-skilled.
Discrimination in education has therefore created societal challenges and battles that the less privileged and vulnerable in the society have continued to fall as target. The issue has been around for many years now and very little progress is seemingly taking place to address it. Work Citied: Margolick, David. Elizabeth and Hazel: Two Women of Little Rock. Yale University Press, 2012 Review Summary 1. I really found the part where I had to describe the grading in education when talking about race relation really challenging. I tried to explain in depth the thoughts I have and hopefully they would be enough. I felt the need to back my points up with facts because I did not think it was good just coming from me and always stating my opinion. 2. I believe the way I stated my agreement is strong. I do hope my central and sub claims are also strong enough to be good in this paper. I felt that the way I organized my paper was good. 3. I am not that quite confident with what I wrote, I hope I have answered each question correctly and organized my paper so the reader is not lost and gets the idea. So I really hope that this paper explains the point about education in race relations specifically. 4. I will try to be more specific with each of my points hopefully after the peer reviews. I would be happy if I can organize my paper more and have more details to back up my writing.
The second is the concern over segregation and the effect it has on society. Mr. Kozol provides his own socially conscious and very informative view of the issues facing the children and educators in this poverty ravaged neighborhood. Those forces controlling public schools, Kozol points out, are the same ones perpetuating inequity and suffering elsewhere; pedagogic styles and shapes may change, but the basic parameters and purposes remain the same: desensitization, selective information, predetermined "options," indoctrination. In theory, the decision should have meant the end of school segregation, but in fact its legacy has proven far more muddled. While the principle of affirmative action under the trendy code word ''diversity'' has brought unparalleled integration into higher education, the military and corporate America, the sort of local school districts that Brown supposedly addressed have rarely become meaningfully integrated. In some respects, the black poor are more hopelessly concentrated in failing urban schools than ever, cut off not only from whites but from the flourishing black middle class. Kozol describes schools run almost like factories or prisons in grim detail. According to Kozol, US Schools are quite quickly becoming functionally segregated. Kozol lists the demographics of a slew of public schools in the states, named after prominent civil rights activists, whose classrooms are upwards of 97% black and Hispanic — in some cases despite being in neighborhoods that are predominantly white. It has been over 50 years since Brown vs. Board of Education. It is sad to read about the state of things today.
The issue of equality in education is not a new problem. In 1787, our federal government required all territories petitioning for statehood to provide free education for all citizens. As part of this requirement, every state constitution included, “an education clause, which typically called for a “thorough and efficient” or “uniform” system of public schools” (School Funding 6). Despite this requirement, a “uniform” system of schools has yet to be achieved in this country for a variety of reasons, many of which I will discuss later on. During the early part of th...
The greatest country in the world still has problems evenly distributing education to its youth. The articles I have read for this unit have a common theme regarding our education system. The authors illustrate to the reader about the struggles in America concerning how we obtain and education. Oppression, politics, racism, and socioeconomic status are a few examples of what is wrong with our country and its means of delivering a fair education to all Americans.
Data proves that America does not have enough African American males teaching in today’s schools. As a matter of fact, only 2% of America’s nearly five million teachers are black men (Bryan 1). In our American society, more and more African American females are fiercely taking over both public and private classrooms. Although this might be a great accomplishment, school officials believes that if more black males teach, it would reduce the numbers of minority achievement gaps and dropout rates. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, about 44% of students nationwide are minorities, but nearly 90% of teachers are white. Polls and surveys further read that if there were more African American male teachers, the dropout rate would decrease while the graduation rate increases. In urban societies most African American teens would be more likely to succeed if there were more black males instructing secondary classrooms.
It has often been said, that high quality education is a privilege base on Race and ethnicity. Let’s take Susan’s example, an enthusiastic Mexican teen who aspires to be a lawyer. She came to the U.S. when she was only twelve, she has work twice as harder
In today’s world, the American still has barriers to overcome in the matter of racial equality. Whether it is being passed over for a promotion at the job or being underpaid, some people have to deal with unfair practice that would prevent someone of color or the opposite sex from having equal opportunity at the job. In 2004, Dukes vs. Wal-Mart Stores Incorporation was a civil rights class-action suite that ruled in favor of the women who worked and did not received promotions, pay and certain job assignments. This proves that some corporations ignore the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which protects workers from discrimination based on sex, race, religion or national origin.
The book, Volunteer Slavery, is Jill Nelson’s account of the racial problems she faced as a Black employee in a White company. Working for the Washington Post was a terrible experience for Nelson whose race prevented her from fitting in with co-workers or agreeing with management. Alex Kajtar says, “...Jill Nelson's account of an authentic African-American experience is a disturbing, disappointing and upsetting image of present-day American society...” (Kajtar). Many people would agree with this statement if they read the book, too. However, the problem is that most Americans will never read her book, and will remain ignorant to the plight of the Black American. Thus, the problem is not that Blacks cannot assimilate into White society “properly,” it is that Whites prevent Blacks from developing their identity.
As education plays a key role in the opportunities one is afforded in life it is clear that minorities and other poor people whom live in school districts that receive less funding are at a disadvantage. Having less access to opportunity and quality education means that these already oppressed and impoverished people will not be ready to enter advantaged careers but instead will be routed into lower paying jobs and ultimately lower socioeconomic status and capitol. As of result of these factors these very same people are more likely to be criminalized and have involvement with the judicial
America demands that all youth receive an education and that its educational system is free and open to all—regardless of class, race, ethnicity, age, and gender. However, the system is failing. There is still inequality in the educational system, and minorities’ experience with education is shaped by discrimination and limited access, while white people’s experience with education is shaped by privilege and access. The educational experience for minorities is still segregated and unequal. This is because the number of white children that are withdrawn from school by their parents is higher than the number of people of color enrolling. White parents are unconsciously practicing the idea of “blockbusting,” where minorities begin to fill up a school; whites transfer their children to a school that has a small or no minority population. They unconsciously feel like once their child is in a school full of minorities that school would not get the proper funding from the federal government. Bonilla-Silvia (2001) states that “[i]nner-city minority schools, in sharp contrast to white suburban schools, lack decent buildings, are over-crowded, [and] have outdated equipment…” (97). The “No Child Left Behind” Act, which holds schools accountable for the progress of their students, measures students’ performance on standardized tests. Most white children that are in suburban schools are given the opportunity to experience education in a beneficial way; they have more access to technology, better teachers, and a safe environment for learning. Hence, white students’ experience with the education system is a positive one that provides knowledge and a path to success. Also, if their standardized testing is low, the government would give the school...
America’s school system and student population remains segregated, by race and class. The inequalities that exist in schools today result from more than just poorly managed schools; they reflect the racial and socioeconomic inequities of society as a whole. Most of the problems with schools boil down to either racism in and outside the school system or financial disparity between wealthy and poor school districts. Because schools receive funding through local property taxes, low-income communities start at an economic disadvantage. Less funding means fewer resources, lower quality instruction and curricula, and little to no community involvement.
Another significant factor is racial inequality in the low-income schools. Many schools of the low-income children of color have fewer science labs and less access to high-level courses as compared to the white children. Devarics (2011) stated, "Schools serving mostly African-American students are twice as likely to have teachers with less experience — just one or two years in the profession — compared with schools in the same district that primarily serve White students." (para.6) Many
Although education can be an escape from poverty, the people of color rarely have access to good schools or education systems.
It seems as if the American government has struggled to evaluate the current educational system in order to determine if significant social issues, including increasing regional poverty, and declining literacy rates in specific urban regions are related to economic differentiations in the education system. There needs to be more emphasis placed on determining a system that provides greater equity between disadvantaged inner-city schools and wealthier suburban, middle class schools. The gap between the nation’s best and worst public schools continues to grow. Our country is based on freedom and equality for all, yet in practice and in the spectrum of education this is rarely the case. Many obvious distress signals seen in today's American urban schools include the increasingly overloaded and under-funded schools, confusion over actual goals and purposes, and a tendency toward a separation into two unequal class divisions within the public schools. Our nation has sadly become a society where many people are concerned only for themselves with little concern for those who are less fortunate.
Once a school system drops their efforts to integrate schools, the schools in low-income neighborhood are left to suffer; not to mention that segregation in schools leads, not only to the neglect of schools, but the neglect of students as well. Resegregation quite literally divides the public schools into two groups “the good schools”, that are well funded, and “the bad schools”, that receive a fraction of the benefits-- more often than not the groups are alternatively labeled as “the white schools” and “the black schools” (and/or hispanic). Opportunities for the neglected students diminish significantly without certain career specific qualifications that quality education can provide-- they can’t rise above the forces that are keeping them in their situation.
Peske, Heather G., and Kati Haycock. "Teaching Inequality: How Poor and Minority Students Are Shortchanged on Teacher Quality: A Report and Recommendations by the Education Trust." Education Trust. N.p., June 2006. Web. 12 Jan. 2014.